


The Forever Love of Oishi and Eiji: A Tragedy in Three Acts

by Halrloprillalar (prillalar)



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 11:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6608197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prillalar/pseuds/Halrloprillalar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short play.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Forever Love of Oishi and Eiji: A Tragedy in Three Acts

**Notes On Staging**

There is no set. The play is to be performed on an empty stage using only the space in front of the drawn curtain. Props should be minimal.

Oishi and Eiji both dress in tennis outfits, holding racquets at all times. Alternatively, Eiji may be costumed as a cat and Oishi as a Roman senator, but racquets may on no account be omitted.

* * *

**ACT I**

_Oishi is alone._

OISHI  
Oh! What a gusty sigh escapes my lips,  
As here I linger, brooding on my state  
Of solitary life, as yet unjoined  
In bonds of gentle love. Alas for this!

There is one, though, whom I would call my own,  
A teasing creature, with a merry heart  
And pleasing face. But he'll ne'er cleave to me.  
For like the sun, he rises, shines, and sets  
Without a thought for those who worship him.

But soft! Someone approaches! I must hide  
Away my melancholy and put on  
A mask of cheer. No one shall know my pain.

_Enter Eiji._

EIJI [ _bounding_ ]  
Hoi hoi!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
It is the very one whom I desire  
Come hence to bring a light to my dark world.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
My greetings to you, Eiji, on this day.

EIJI [ _throws himself onto Oishi_ ]  
Oishi! I'm bored, nyah!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
Oh how I wish that I could entertain you  
With such sports of love of which I dream  
When lying wakeful in my bed o' nights.

EIJI [ _whining_ ]  
Why won't you talk to me? You're so mean, Oishi!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
My cruelty is kindness, since to speak  
My heart is cruel. I'll be more circumspect.

EIJI  
Wah! I'll cry!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
No stronger suasion could you work on me  
To break the silence which now guards my lips.  
I'll speak! But 'gainst the warning in my heart  
That this can but distress you.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
Stay, my friend.  
I would not see those eyes grow red and weep  
Through fault of mine, or any other cause.  
My mind I'll open to you now and give  
To all my thoughts a voice, for friendship's sake.

EIJI  
Want to go see a movie, Oishi? We can get ice cream, nyah!

OISHI  
For I am sunk in tedium and grief,  
As day by day, a love beats in my heart,  
Unheard, unnoticed by its own sweet source.  
Thus my unworthy self grows e'er more sad  
And longs to make confession. But I fear  
To loose my tongue would cause more grief to him.  
So silence is my custom, peace my creed.

EIJI [ _jumping excitedly_ ]  
Oiiiii-shiiiii! You like a boy! Oishi likes a boy! Who is it? Tell me! Tell me!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
I have put one foot forward. Dare I walk  
This path unto its end? No, for I care  
More for another's heart than for my own  
And would not see it ache on my account.

EIJI  
Tell me! Don't be mean, nyah! I want to know!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
Oh! Were that it were anyone but you  
Who asks this of me. Them I could refuse  
Without a qualm. But so importunate  
Are your entreaties and so soft your eyes,  
I cannot keep my vow. Forgive me, friend,  
If thus I gamble your long happiness  
Against this briefer joy.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
Then I'll make bold  
And tell you plainly that the one I love  
Is you, Eiji, and shall be all my life.

EIJI  
Oishi, you like me?

OISHI  
I dare to own it. You are all my heart.

EIJI  
You want to be my boyfriend?

OISHI  
Such favour I could never hope to earn,  
But am resigned to love without requite.  
To have my love returned is but a fant'sy  
With which I cheer the darkness of my days.

EIJI  
And then you would take me to the movies and buy me ice cream?

OISHI  
For you, there is no deed I would not dare,  
No cost I would not pay, were it my life.

EIJI  
Okay, you can be my boyfriend, nyah!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
Am I asleep e'en now? Is this my dream?  
For never did I once believe this day  
Could come to pass. This shock of joy may be  
My death. But such a sweet end it would be.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
If you would take this worthless, humble fool,  
Then he's your man to do with what you will.  
Oh, Eiji! Let me hold you in my arms  
So that I may discern that you are flesh  
And will not melt away. My sweetest love!

_They embrace._

EIJI  
Movies now! Wah! I want peppermint ice cream!

_Exeunt omnes._

* * *

**ACT II**

_Enter Oishi and Eiji, hand in hand. Eiji drags Oishi all over the stage throughout the act._

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
Twelve days and nights has this world swung about  
The sun while I have likewise made of you  
The centre of my orbit, all the fix  
and focus of my thoughts, my deeds, my life.

EIJI  
Look! A bookstore! Let's go in!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
We've not been parted. Of this privilege  
I had but dreamed and never dared to hope  
Dreams could be real. For fear of causing pain  
To one so sweet, I held my eager tongue,  
And only let it free to stop your tears.

EIJI  
Oishi, there's a butterfly! Catch it, nyah!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
Your heart is light, your happiness undimmed  
By my rash act. Of this I am most glad.  
For I would never grieve your gentle soul  
Nor place a burden on you. I will bear  
Such troubles on my own, for I am strong.

EIjI  
Wah! I want a drink! Buy me a drink!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
In sooth, it's strength I'll need. For while the sun  
Is glorious from afar and gives both heat  
And light to make the flowers grow, the trees  
To rise, and all the earth a verdant garden,  
Nearer to, the light is blinding, flames  
Lick out and burn, the heat does suffocate.  
Likewise a taste of honey fills the mouth  
With sweetness, but to gorge on honey sickens  
Any man. And so it is with me.

EIJI  
Oishi, you're so cute! [ _pinches Oishi's cheek_ ] I'm cute too, right?

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
For while I stood aside and let the longing  
Fill my heart, I wept now and again,  
Sighed gently at the love I bore for you,  
And lived a week upon one merry smile  
Dropt from your lips. But I am sun-sick now,  
And loathe to sip one drop of nectar more.  
For I would rather starve of love than surfeit.

EIJI  
Let's go to the arcade! Don't be mean, nyah! 

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
But though I would be anywhere but here,  
And long to find my solitude once more,  
My promises I'll keep, my bonds I'll wear,  
And you'll not know the secret in my breast,  
But see the smiling face that I'll put on,  
To hide my anguish from you. Would that I  
Had been so resolute before. Alas!  
But manfully I'll bear it.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
All your words  
Are law to me. Lead on and I will follow.

EIJI  
Hoi hoi!

_Exeunt omnes._

* * *

**ACT III**

_Enter Oishi. He looks disturbed and carries a small box._

OISHI  
Long days I've sought to find a single hour  
In which to stand alone and in the shade.  
I have been baking in the sun 'til all  
My brain is crazed, my thoughts bewitched, and just  
One purpose left in clarity: my freedom.

But still my conscience pricks at me -- my heart  
Is not so monstrous yet, so cruel, to tell  
You to your face of all my love grown cold,  
My joy to sorrow, and desire to loathing.  
For some small corner of my mind still holds  
The memory of love. And for its sake,  
I have prepared another way to rid  
Myself of this unwanted troth, and free  
You from your promises to such a cad,  
A blackguard, knave, and villain such as I.

Within this box, a spider is secured,  
Minute, but with a bite so venomous  
That one drop in a jug of wine would fell  
Ten of the strongest men. I'll loose the lid,  
And as it scuttles to and fro, I'll give  
My hand to it, and pray it be my doom.

For thus my death will seem a tragedy  
Unlooked for, chance not perfidy. Upon  
Your thoughts of me no shade of doubt will fall,  
No faithless stain will mar, and you'll believe  
I loved you to the end. Farewell, my friend!

_Enter Eiji._

EIJI  
Hoi hoi!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
Ah! Curse the melancholy mood that cloaks  
My heart and leads me into self-reflection.  
For I have missed my chance and must now hope  
To seize another. But I fear not soon  
Will such a time present itself.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
Eiji!  
My hour is sweetened. As the fragrance of  
A rose suffuses all the room, now you  
Have filled my very heart.  
[ _aside_ ]  
The rose has thorns!

EIJI [ _hangs onto Oishi_ ]  
Oishi, where were you, nyah? I was looooonely!

OISHI  
I ask your pardon for my thoughtless deeds.  
I had a mind to walk about the town  
And seek a gift for you, some pretty thing  
That would delight your eyes and cheer your heart.

EIJI  
Oh, Oishi, is that it? [ _grabs at the box_ ] Give me my present! Wah!

OISHI [ _yanking the box away_ ]  
No, leave this be. You cannot open it.

EIJI [ _whining and still trying to get the box_ ]  
Come on, Oishi! Give it to me now! Give it! I want it!

OISHI [ _aside_ ]  
I must not let it fall into his hands,  
To keep him safe from harm is still my goal.  
[ _to Eiji_ ]  
Sweet Eiji, let it be, for it is naught.  
No bauble fit for you, no charming toy  
That you would want it. Come, we'll go together  
And for you, I'll buy what e'er you ask.

EIJI [ _grabbing at the box and jumping up and down_ ]  
I'm mad at you! Give it now! I want it! If you don't give to me now, I'll hold my breath and pass out, nyah!

_Oishi is speechless. He clutches the box out of Eiji's reach. Eiji starts to pummel Oishi on the back._

EIJI  
Wah! Wah! Wah!

_Oishi drops the box and the lid falls off. He yells incoherently, pulls out a knife, and stabs Eiji repeatedly._

OISHI  
Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!

_Eiji slumps to the ground, bleeding._

EIJI [ _gasping_ ]  
Oishi! You're so mean, nyah!

_Eiji expires._

OISHI  
What have I done? What madness took my mind  
And drove me to this wanton, brutal act?  
I am a murderer, a vicious man,  
Marked now by death and blood. _Your_ death and blood,  
Sweet friend. My soul is stained, my body reeks  
Of sin. There is but one deed left to do,  
To make my payment for this evil act  
And follow you once more: Eiji, for you!

_Oishi stabs himself and expires next to Eiji._

_Enter Inui and Tezuka._

INUI  
What befell here? What murder has been done?  
[ _examining the bodies_ ]  
The first to fall was Eiji, as I see,  
By Oishi's hand. Then Oishi plunged the knife  
In his own breast. A grievous end to their  
Late happiness, though I had thought mayhap  
There was some cooling of Oishi's love.  
This tragedy, I ween, is the result.

TEZUKA  
Oishi! Eiji! Fifty laps.

INUI [ _writing in notebook_ ]  
Tezuka, they can't run laps if they're dead.

TEZUKA [ _bending down_ ]  
Look, a spider.

_Tezuka expires._

INUI [ _steps on spider_ ]  
Two morals can we draw from such a sight --  
The first: be moderate in love, my friend.  
The second: be on guard 'gainst spider's bite.  
And with these words, our play is at an end.

_Exit Inui._


End file.
